Gender differences in processing information for making self-assessments of health

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sociology of Health and Illness
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Self-assessed health (SAH) is a significant predictor of mortality.
• Existing research indicates SAH is a weaker predictor of mortality in women than in men.
• The reasons for this gender difference in SAH accuracy remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors influencing self-assessed health (SAH) judgments in men and women.
• To determine why SAH is a less accurate predictor of mortality in women compared to men.
• To examine the role of negative affect (NA) and other health-related factors in SAH.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 830 elderly residents in a retirement community.
• Conducted a 5-year mortality follow-up study.
• Analyzed the bases for men's and women's reports of negative affect (NA) and SAH, and their association with mortality.

Main Results:

• Women's SAH judgments incorporate a broader spectrum of health and non-health factors than men's.
• Negative affect (NA) is linked to poorer SAH in both genders, but more broadly in women.
• Men's SAH primarily reflects serious, life-threatening diseases, while women's includes both serious and non-serious conditions.

Conclusions:

• Gender differences in the breadth of information used for SAH judgments explain variations in its predictive accuracy for mortality.
• The wider range of factors influencing women's SAH and NA may contribute to documented differences in their health and illness behaviors.
• Future research should investigate the bases of NA and self-evaluations separately for men and women.